Snippets
by iAndromeda
Summary: People. Conversations. Snippets.


**Snippets.**

"What is love?"

"While I appriciate the sentiment, I would rather answer this some time when we are NOT looking through dusty rooms of old egyptian vases"

"Come on Muskaan, you can answer better. We are alright detectives; we can hold a conversation while investigating." Abhijeet said, dusting a few boxes.

"Ugh" Muskaan let out an exaggerated sigh, "I don't know. What is love?"

"That is what I am asking you"

Muskaan slumped down with her back against a box and turned the flashlight beam towards her fellow detective.

"Is this a philosphical question? And why the sudden question anyway?"

"Muska-an" Abhijeet drawled her name in a few more syllabi and sat down on a box, "I don't know. Just answer the question."

Muskaan flicked the torch on and off, lighting up dusty corners. "Let's see. Love is... an Agatha Christie novel?"

Abhijeet shone his flashlight beam on her face, "that's all?"

"Hey!" A responsive beam lit up suddenly on Abhijeet's face as well, "what's your philosophy on this Mr. Sharp Shooter?"

Abhijeet looked up to find Muskaan's big eyes looking at him, wiggling her brows. He could not resist a laugh.

"Are you just being polite? We should get going; there's nothing in here" saying so, the senior inspector got up.

"Hey, hey. No dodging the question. Sit down and answer my question"

Abhijeet drummed the top of a box lightly. "Love is work? I love my work"

Muskaan looked thoughful for a moment, then nodded her head. "Love could be work, too. We love our work" and then, shaking a dusty vase, she said, "who doesn't love to poke their head around in dust looking for clues, am I right?"

"Don't get cheeky. Get up and let's get going" Abhijeet said once again, getting to his feet. Muskaan jumped up lightly.

"Come on old man, we haven't got all day!" Muskaan said with a smirk, as she tried to run past him.

Abhijeet, on his part, dodged her and gave a triumphant smile of his own going ahead. Abruptly then, he turned back to look at her again, "why an Agatha Christie novel though?"

Muskaan shrugged, "I don't know, why not? This is love, like you said. Flashlights in the dark and investigating" a pause later, "it feels good to know that what we do is important; meaningful to an extent" she blew a strand of hair out of her face, "isn't that what love is about? Making you realize your purpose and being... I don't know, a decent human being?"

"Although most people would say good human being and would probably extoll eloquences about love, I think I quite like the idea of love being an Agatha Christie novel" Abjieet nodded his head in approval.

"Why did you ask me the question, though, really?"

Abhijeet looked at Muskaan with the samllest hint of a smile, "how else was I going to pass the time with you?"

_...

Visiting the forensic lab again was like getting punched on the face, Nyla would say, with a sudden surge of nostalgia that made time stand still. All the easy nonchalance she had thought she would enter the lab with, went out the window as familiar surroundings looked out of place with the other forensic doctors present there.

"It feels strange, doesn't it? A place that belonged to you, that you once belonged to, becomes a part of nostalgia" doctor Niyati Pradhan spoke, looking ahead. Nyla hadn't noticed her coming to stand beside her.

Doctor Sonali raised her eyebrows from across the room, "missing the lab too much, doctor Pradhan? Or the old days and...ah, the people here? Specifically any person on the team?"

"Don't say you are glad that they are just now on a mission and you can't meet them, Sonali"

Nyla tried answering this question for herself and came up with zilch. Did she miss them? Did she want to meet them?

Ugh. The place (or was it the nostalgia?) was messing with her mind again. Thankfully she noted, the conversations did not stop around her.

"Tarika, you settle the debate: is it better to handle this crazy lab and work alone or does Salunkhe manage to provide comic relief from time to time?"

The three of them burst out laughing at that, briefly distracting Nyla to wonder who the chap was.

"Well, I enjoy working with doctor Salunkhe" Tarika said, unable to keep the loyalty and pride out of her voice.

Sonali said, "the best part of the day is when the team visits the bureau, especially ACP sir. That is some good quality banter right there, between him and Salunkhe."

Nyla looked on.

"Semblance my dear, is what you try to find here" doctor Pradhan spoke from beside her.

She did not turn towards doctor Pradhan to acknowledge her statement. The other continued, perhaps not really expecting any reply, "becoming a part, but not really, always watching from afar. No wonder we don't really fit into the family that bonds in the bureau"

Nyla glanced at her "that was a weird anology, if it can be called that but, um, you do realize that none if us actually continued working here"

"And thank goodness for that" Niyati replied.

Doctor Sonali nodded, "oh yes. The lab would've broken down with all the angst. Tarika, it's a feat yoy have not yet gone insane!"

The smile let everyone know she was joking.

Because really, Nyla thought, they would have gone crazy had they all remained here. Tarika found a piece of her heart here and she stayed since. The others, the three of them, could not have stayed-too much or not enough attachment, you see.

But it was comforting, nevertheless to know that she had a place where she could find herself all over again over conversations.

_...

It was unnaturally quite in the bureau, given the time of the day; mornings tended to bring all the officers chatting and getting their coffees or tea-just the usual morning hustle. Inspector Fredricks was therefore surprised to start a quite morning at work, finding the bureau nearly empty. Contemplating his schedule, currently surprisingly free, he wondered where everyone was.

As if on cue, they came jostling in, laughter on their lips and triumph on their faces. The more Fredricks thought about it, he became certain that this triumph wasn't only about the victory in their last mission.

It was a strange pride he felt, when he saw these kids (beacuse yes, for him they were still kids) beaming from their work. When he looked at them, he could see them living out loud, the life in their eyes and the nonchalant determination of taking over the world or saving it. Because they believed they could.

It was in the way Rajat clapped Pankaj on the back when his aim was perfect; it was in the way Tasha and Vivek would instantly compose an elaborate plan to take down the enemy, just with nod of understanding and a knowing look passing between them.

What had Manisha said the other day to him? "They burn bright like the fire" and he believed they did. All of these younger lot. It was a warmth that made Fredricks wonder sometimes if was just as young as them and shining just as brightly.

Their radiating energy was enough sometimes, to make Freddy believe that he was just as young. Ready to fight for the good in the world. He wondered if he ought to feel old among them. But never did the make him feel so. Vivek, the youngest among them, sought out Freddy the most.

Not left to ponder over his thoughts much, they soon noticed him and started chattering right away about their recent mission. He saw Vivek's eyes twinkle as he stood (surprisingly calmly) at the back and knew that some mischief was up the boy's sleeve. He conveyed his awe at the plan Mayur had formed on the field, last minute and watched his face form a grin.

Kajal cut in between to tell him that they needed him to accompany them to breakfast so that they could tell him about the whole case in detail.

They moved to go out for breakfast, surrounding him and cutting each other mid-sentence in the excitement to talk. And Freddy felt young again.

_...

"You know this would almost be romantic if I was up here with a girl" Nikhil said, and glancing at Sachin who was standing beside him, added, "no offence."

"none taken" Sachin said, squinting his eyes to look at the skyline of the city, spread out before them.

Both the officers were currently standing on the roof of their headquarter building. A broken air conditioner vent and these two being the only people in the building, courtesy of a holiday, had got them on the top of the building as they decided to fix it.

"This is a nice place. Have you ever been here before?" Nikhil asked.

Sachin peered down carefully before answering, "once. With Abhijeet sir. Routine check, you know"

Nikhil nodded his head. "The brilliant blue sky, the wind and air. What's not to like?"

Sachin shot him a skeptical look and asked, "remind me what are we doing on a rooftop again, now that our work is done?"

"Hanging out. We don't really talk much. This seems like a nice enough place to become proper friends"

The conversation leading them here had been rather thoughful:

"The air conditioning is not working" Nikhil had muttered.

"Hm" Sachin made a non-commital sound, and then, closing the paper he was reading, "do you think we can fix it?"

Nikhil looked mildly surprised but answered, "the vent probably leads to the rooptop. We could try"

Both of them shrugged, and went ahead with (or without) the plan.

Now, they stood overlooking the panorama of the city spread out before them. The evening sun was moving lazily to the horizon.

"Any particar girl you're imagining being here with?"

The question from Sachin broke the near silence and Nikhil let out a chuckle, "well, come to think of it, I don't know any ladies who would think the rooptop is a good place to hang out. The ones I know who do think so, work with us in the bureau" his expression turned deadpan as he turned to Sachin to say, "and if I tell them about coming here, they will probably race us to the stairs and laugh when they outrun both of us"

The older officer nodded his head somberly, "that is true. I can imagine them using this as a hangout spot"

Nikhil's face abrubptly broke into a grin, and he said, "although I am certain Kajal would say yes, if you ask nicely"

Saching laughed heartily at that.

"Yes, well she did say she wanted to see the topography of the place, as she is new to the city"

After no response and a pointed look from Nikhil, he added, "what?"

"And you absolutely do NOT want to ask her out to see the sunset with you otherwise"

Another laugh from Sachin, and this time Nikhil joined him.

"We should hang out sometime" Sachin said.

"Some palce that's not a rooftop. Otherwise I will always feel like third wheel, even with Kajal not around" Nikhil commented.

"Just say you are scared of heights" was all the other replied.

"I climbed up all the way, didn't I?!"

"Scared" Sachin laughed.

"Ugh. Why did I agree to hang out with you?" Nikhil shook his head.

The twilight outlined their shillouettes against a mauve sky.

 _fin_.

A/n:

Timelines have just not been considered for this one-shot.

Huge thanks to **Originals143** for inspiring me to compelete this peice. This one's for you, Ori.


End file.
